I typically tend to prefer not putting too many NPCs in a scene, especially not a scene that I won’t be lingering on. The reason is pretty simple – time. It might not sound like it’d be all that much work, but the time taken finding an NPC appearance, trying to mimic it in modelviewer, exporting it and importing it into 3ds can quickly mount the more characters are involved. As an example, just setting up this particular scene took well over four hours, and normally I wouldn’t have bothered spending nearly as much time on a single page because it typically isn’t worth it.

Auberdine, however, went up with the Cataclysm. I figured it might be worth doing at least something with it.

I love this scene. I love all that’s going on in it and that you chose to pay tribute to *these* characters. And I loved Auberdine, which was my home in Kalimdor for a long time. I love Te and Areen too ofc :)

I’ll admit, that’s probably the grizzly truth of the matter. Still, a pun being bad doesn’t exactly give me paws. At least you can probably feel at ease that the full furvor of the puns have more or less already been brought to bear – after all, it’s taken me an embearrassingly long time to actually put this reply together.

Ahem.

Some choices were pretty incidental, others simply had to be there; Gwennyth Bly’Leggonde, Thundris Windreaver and Alanndarian Nightsong were all on my essential list. Jaelysia and Barithras Moonshade appeared mostly due to positioning while Hollee seemed perfect for handing Gwennyth a piece of sea monster. Delfrum Flintbeard and Harlon Thornguard ended up there largely because I wanted a Night elf and a Dwarf to walk down the road and the blacksmith trainer and the armourer seemed like the two who might have the most in common.

I’m not sure what you mean by it taking a while to mimic in modelviewer – all you need is the name and you can look up the NPC.

If you’ve got the latest version, it’s just:
File -> Discovery NPC followed by
View -> View NPC, where you can bung in the name and it gives you the appearance, pixel for pixel.

If not the latest version, I think it’s the same on the older ones and I just can’t confirm it =p Although, I guess that doesn’t improve the exporting into the 3D programs time-wise, but it might well save you a lot of shenaniganry all the same.

Unfortunately, that feature never worked for me, ever. Or well, it seems to have a higher success rate with newer NPCs, but once you get to ones old enough that they’re relevant for me, it typically only produces very underdressed results. Or always did for me – it’s never managed to give me anything useful.

So yeah, it’d be a nice time saver if it actually worked, but for me it never has.

Do you have to export textures, the model – or both? Because the option to export models when I’ve loaded an NPC is greyed out entirely. If I misunderstood and that is in fact the problem, I apologise. I also assume that loading an NPC’s clothes onto a character model doesn’t work either.

I’d offer to try and find a solution but I feel that’d be condescending, since you surely already have. I would also offer to do the exporting for you, though the logistics of such a promise are probably fiddly beyond belief.

I typically export model and texture in the same go, since exporting the textures will typically export them in their original, component states which means that I’ll have to assemble them afterwards, which takes even more time, so it’s only something I do when it’s an advantage to have the actual component textures.

Also, it seems the problem is that I’m actually an idiot. Apparently Load NPC Outfit and View NPC are completely separate features where the latter is functional (and actually calls up the baked NPC textures, like I’d want it to) and the former has the aforementioned issues of rarely finding anything even remotely useful.

I can even export models from viewed NPCs it without issue, it seems, complete with baked textures, so that’s really quite handy. Thanks for pointing it out – that most likely will save me a fair bit of time in the future, yes.

Oh Auberdine, My Auberdine. :(
Going back to do all the Darkshore quests on mah boomkin was one of the few things that made me angry. The good kind; not, “OMG BLIZZ DEVS WTH!” angry, but “kill all the effing elementals/cultists I see” kind.
Running the evac route, littered with the dead and dying quest NPCs… :(

I don’t care that you can only turn into a gnoll, Te’len; I still love you! :D

I think thats Archaeologist Hollee… I’m guessing she’s showing off a fossil. She “survived” the cataclysm… but is captured by cultists to be used as an offering of sorts. (I’m guessing if you don’t pick up the quest to rescue her, she ends up… well… you know…)

But really, it’s nice to see again that city, was one of my favourite towns, the sea, the woods next to it, the bridges… I mean Lor’Danel is nice too but… it doesn’t seem to fit in there, it’s too colourful, Auberdine blended in with the environments perfectly.

I love this page. Auberdine was my most favorite place on Azeroth (imagine the virtual tears I shed when I heard it was destroyed). And I love the NPC interactions. Especially the dwarf with the vase – I loved the quest to save that oddball archeologist.

You won’t believe me, but as a die hard human warrior, i always loved the Auberdine, and Darkshore in general. When i started playing game 7 years ago, my friend escorted me on level 12 or so to travel from Stormwind to Ironforge, from mountain passes to Wetlands, via the boat to Darkshore. There i quested, there i fought and spilt blood and sweat for the Alliance. That particular place has its memories in me. That is where i learned fishing, from the funny dwarf on that tree trunk. He even mailed me fish bubbles after the quest was done. Countless of hours minnig copper, just to sell it on Darnassus AH for 1 gold a stack. I was feeling rich, stronger and more courageous to wander into dark forests of this world when i left that place. Yeah, it has its memories on me..

Argh! I dislike myself for the fact that I’ve read everything that you have posted thus far… all in one day. You have me captivated in the storyline, and for it all to stop so suddenly is quite disappointing. I saw a link to this story on Blizzard’s Facebook page today and I’ve spent the better part of 6 hours reading it… Please do not stop writing this, it is truly a great story so far!

Comics of Amusement

Random Blogs of Interest

Essential box of legalities

Beyond the Tree is based on (when not directly using) the art resources and story setting of World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment.

That and all related and/or registered trademarks are the property of Blizzard Entertainment and Beyond the Tree claims no ownership of these or any affiliation with Blizzard Entertainment but hopes they'll have a sense of humour and appreciate it all the same ;)